Earth Day celebration at Clay Center set for Thursday

4/21/2010

Hundreds of elementary school students from four counties are expected to take part in this year’s Earth Day celebration at the Clay Center in downtown Charleston. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin plans to attend the event. This is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

Sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s REAP (Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan) program, the Earth Day celebration is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, April 22. Activities will be conducted on the Clay Center’s front terrace, but the facility’s grand lobby has been reserved in case of bad weather.

Another added bonus of the Clay Center is kids participating in Earth Day will be allowed to tour the facility that day, as long as their respective schools set it up with Clay Center officials in advance, said REAP’s Travis Cooper.

“I think it’s great for the schools,” Cooper said. “They can take advantage of the things the Clay Center has to offer. I think this is a win-win situation for everybody.”

Counties participating in this year’s Earth Day celebration are Kanawha, Cabell, Braxton and Putnam.

In addition to several DEP divisions, among those expected to participate in Earth Day this year are the Three Rivers Avian Center with its birds of prey; the Ah Ha Butterfly Ranch; the Division of Forestry; and the Division of Natural Resources.